


All Was Golden When The Day Met The Night

by exitthequitters



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Everything is symbolic, M/M, background ziam - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2013-12-15
Packaged: 2018-01-04 17:23:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exitthequitters/pseuds/exitthequitters
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis is the metaphorical Sun and Harry is the metaphorical Moon and the metaphorical Earth they revolve around is the inn where they both work.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All Was Golden When The Day Met The Night

**Author's Note:**

> There's a lyric in You and I that goes, "I see what it's like for day and night. Never together, cause they see things in a different light like us. But they never tried like us." also [this post](http://stylinnuendo.tumblr.com/post/62883045295/x-also-moon-and-sun-moon-and-fucking-sun-look) and I just kind of ran with it!  
> Thank you to [Mallory](buttercup-lou.tumblr.com) for all the help. You can also go to [my tumblr](exitthewritter.tumblr.com) if you want to talk.

Louis likes routine. Louis likes dependability. Louis likes his job. 

Louis is the day manager at The Cheshire Cat Inn, the newest and most successful Inn in all of Cheshire. It’s a good gig, certainly not Louis dream job, but it works. The inn is going for a rustic feel, with horses and nature. It’s not Louis’ thing, usually, but there’s something about the air around the inn that Louis just can’t get enough of. He’s calm there, even when things get hectic, and Louis finds himself never wanting to leave at the end of his shifts.

He gets to work at seven in the morning, sometimes earlier, smiling kindly at the night manager, who takes off as soon as he sees Louis. The poor bloke always looks exhausted, but Louis thinks it sweet that he stays until Louis gets there in the morning, even though his shift technically ended two hours ago. Louis thinks the night manager must love the inn just as much as he does. 

“Hey, Boss Man!” Niall calls from his desk across the lobby. Several guest look at him with annoyed looks but Louis gives them pleasant smiles as he passes and they eventually return to whatever people do at seven in the morning while they should be on holiday. 

“What do you want, Niall?” Louis asks once he’s out of earshot of the guest. Niall’s a concierge because he has a bright smile and knows all of the secretly fun things to do in the city, not because he actually does any work. Louis likes Niall, just not when he’s working and Niall is being incredibly unhelpful. 

“Did you hear? Greg’s coming to town.” Niall answers, slapping Louis on the back like he’s supposed to be proud. 

“Greg’s coming to town? Why’s Greg coming to town?” Louis questions immediately, his eyes widening in fear while Niall looks at him with confusion. 

“I don’t know, Zayn told me and he didn’t say why.” Niall shrugs, fiddling with some of the brochures he has spread sporadically around his desk, like he does whenever he has to deal with an upset guest. 

“Okay, I’ll just go talk to Zayn.” Louis takes a deep breath. He doesn’t like upsetting Niall. “Thank you, Niall, for telling me.”

“You should wait to talk to Zayn.” Niall says as Louis starts heading for the kitchen. “You know, because it’s breakfast time and you know how Zayn gets during breakfast time.”

“This is more important than breakfast time.” Louis answers seriously, turning on his toes and walking with purpose away from where Niall is grumbling about nothing being more important than pancakes. 

The kitchen is always busy but meal times are chaos. The room is hot and loud, with most of the noise coming from Zayn barking orders. He’s bustling quickly around the room, tasting and approving everything as the other workers plate food for the servers to take out. Zayn’s hard to catch but Louis’ done this before.

“Z!” Louis shouts, picking up a cup of coffee from a crowded counter and plopping himself down on the only chair in the room. Louis can’t stay in the kitchen long without starting to sweat and feeling like he’s in the way, but he’s there to see Zayn enough that one of the chefs put an old chair in a corner for him. 

“Can this wait, Tommo? Every single person in this inn wanted French toast for breakfast and I’m freaking the fuck out.” Zayn grumbles, slinging a whisk around for batter hits a few of the other chefs. He glares at them until they move faster. 

“Do you think Greg’s mad? Like, do you think he wants us to make more money than we’re making? Cause, I’ve told him this before, Cheshire is not a big tourist place. We’re never going to have an insane amount of guests, but I think the people who do come here are very satisfied with their stay and that should mean something. Quality over quantity.” Louis says loudly, his voice carrying over the clatter of the kitchen as Zayn goes back to rushing around, handing Louis a plate of bacon as he passes. 

“What exactly are you babbling about?” Zayn asks once he’s stopped long enough to look at Louis.

“Why is Greg coming?” Louis clarifies, crumbling up his bacon and spreading it around the plate. He’s too upset about somehow pissing off the owner of the inn to eat. 

“All I know is he want to meet with you and Harry. That’s who told me, Harry got a call from him early this morning. Apparently Greg will be here tomorrow and he wants to have lunch with you two eventually. I figured Harry would tell you all of this?” Zayn replies around a heavy yawn. He sends out one of the last plates of French toast and starts calming down, quietly cleaning the kitchen as most of the staff takes a break. 

“Who the hell is Harry?” Louis asks. 

“The night manager, Lou!” Zayn laughs and laughs while Louis pouts from his chair. “Do you really not know him?”

“Is he new?” Louis asks, racking his brain. He feels like he’s smiled at the night manager every morning for his entire life and never even wondered about the actual human being behind the title. Now he feels terrible about it. 

“Three years.” Zayn answers, throwing a dishrag at Louis. 

“What? I’ve only been here for two! Was he here when the inn opened?” Louis asks, amazed. He feels like the inn is a different place at night that Louis probably couldn’t recognize. He sets the completely uneaten bacon on the counter. This morning has gone to shit and bacon won’t help.

“Yeah, apparently. I can’t believe you don’t know Harry. He’s a great guy, you’d like him.” Zayn smirks and winks, as if Louis can’t tell Zayn still thinks it hilarious that Louis hasn’t been on a second date in a year. 

“How do you know what I like? How do you even know Harry? You don’t work when he does.” Louis stands and stretches, finally remembering that he really should get back to managing the inn.

“He works early in the mornings. And Liam likes him. Harry comes out for a drink before his shift sometimes.” Zayn shrugs, a gleam in his eye at the mention of Liam.

“Speaking of Liam, I’m sure he needs me for something. Have fun with the lunch rush.” Louis smiles as he leaves the kitchen, laughing as Zayn calls out for him to come back. 

Liam does need Louis, of course; he’s head of housekeeping and pretty much always has a problem. Today it’s something about too many of the housekeepers calling in sick. Louis calls the union and has Liam breathing normally again by the time they take their lunch break together. 

“You seem just a bit off today.” Liam says around the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he brought from home. It’s gourmet, made by Zayn, and Liam hums happily around every bite. 

“What do you mean?” Louis asks, looking down sadly at him cup of soup. He needs a boyfriend who can cook. He’d settle for a roommate at this point. 

“Well, you just seem distracted, is all. Normally the well being of the inn is the only thing you care about. Is there something on your mind?” Liam shrugs, most of his attention of the horses trotting around outside the window.

“I care about things beside the inn!” Louis protest immediately. 

“Like what?” Liam asks innocently. 

“Like you! And Zayn and Niall and everyone else who works here.” Louis cries. Liam laughs and pulls a second sandwich out of his backpack, handing it to Louis with a bright smile. 

“I care about you too. We all do. That’s why we’re worried about you. Your shift ends at seven but you stay until nine, okay, and you get here early in the morning. No one should be here that often.” Liam pats Louis hand like he’s concerned, a sweet smile on his face. He pulls out the rest of his healthy lunch, probably made with love, splitting it evenly between him and Louis. 

“Harry doesn’t get in until nine! If I leave then there’s not another manager on duty! What if something goes horribly wrong and no one is here to fix it?’ Louis asks. Liam pulls a note written by Zayn out of his backpack. He sighs happily as he reads over it, holding it close to his heart when he’s done, and Louis pouts. 

“You could leave us alone for a couple hours. The world wouldn’t stop if you took a day off.” Liam replies with a scoff. 

“Maybe that’s what Greg’s coming to tell Harry and me. Maybe he’s sick of us. Harry gets here early and stays late too, you know.” Louis pouts some more at homemade crisps. Today is turning out to be the worst day ever. 

“Is that why you’ve been off all day? You’re worried about why Greg’s coming to town?’ Liam asks sympathetically while Louis nods. They’re quiet, eating their lunches and greeting some of their coworkers. “I think today is the first time you’ve ever mentioned Harry. I didn’t know you knew him.” 

“Of course I know the night manager, _Liam_. He’s only been working here for three years!” Louis avoids Liam’s raised eyebrow. “Okay, so I’ve never actually talked to him. I didn’t even know his name until Zayn said it earlier. But I see him a lot.”

“How come you’ve never talked?’ Liam asks. 

“We only see each other in passing, you know? Like I start my shift when he gets off and I get off when he’s just coming in. I don’t know, he looks interesting.” Louis replies. 

“Interesting?” 

“Yeah, interesting.” Louis insists. 

“ _Okay_ , well. You have fun with that. I’m going to go check the rooms. Try not to work too hard.” Liam throws away his trash before patting Louis on the back and taking off. 

Harry comes in around nine, like clockwork, hours before his shift if supposed to start. 

“Hey, mate.” Louis calls, logging out of the computer at the front desk. This is usually the point in the day where Louis takes off and grabs some take away on the way to his flat. From there he’ll watch crappy television and finally go to sleep. Today is different enough without having his first real conversation with Harry The Night Manger. It’s just, Harry always gets in early and stays late too. 

“Hey. Greg called, by the way. He said he tried to call you but you never answered.” Harry says. Louis likes that they can skip the fluff and get right to the thing they both obviously care about, but Harry’s voice sounds like sleeping and Louis wants to hear him speak lullabies. 

“Oh yeah, I changed my number not too long ago. I guess I forget to tell him.” Louis replies.

“He said he wants to have lunch with us on Friday at noon in the inn restaurant. I told him I’d let you know.” Harry speaks like his words aren’t entirely connected to his thoughts, like there’s something he wants to say that won’t come out. Louis wishes he knew Harry better, wishes he could listen and understand what was supposed to be said. 

“Okay thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, Harry.” Louis answers sweetly, gathering his things to ignore how Harry seems taken aback at Louis knowing his name. 

“I’m Louis, by the way.” Louis calls back to Harry. “I wasn’t sure if you knew.” 

“I knew.” Harry replies with a laugh. “You’re the favorite of most of the people here. You’re all they talk about sometimes.” 

Louis smiles all the way out the door, to the take away place, and back to his brightly lit flat. He tries to watch crappy TV, tries to sleep and get back to his regularly scheduled life but it just doesn’t work. Today is different. Tonight is different.

-

Louis brings Harry coffee on Friday morning. 

Harry tells Louis about how this job has caused him to become nocturnal and he sleeps all day now, only getting up when it’s time for his shift. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I love this job and I wouldn’t want to do anything else. But if I go home Friday morning I’m going to fall asleep and then I won’t wake up to have lunch with Greg.” Harry says, a bright gleam in his dark eyes, despite the early morning. He’s leaning against the front desk, blocking the sun streaming through the window behind him, smiling down at Louis as if this isn’t the third time they’ve been awake enough to acknowledge each other. 

“You could just stay. Watch how a pro manages this place. That should keep you awake.” Louis offers. Harry laughs like Louis said something worthwhile. 

“If you’re sure I won’t be in the way.” Harry finally replies.

So Harry is there during Louis shift. And Louis brings him coffee. 

“This better not be a lunch that requires thinking.” Harry says, leaning entirely on the table in the inn’s dinning room. Louis moves some of the dishes on the table out of the way so Harry can have more room. The boy looks exhausted. “I don’t think I can think today.”

“I’ll think and you can just nod.” Louis offers. 

“Don’t even think I could nod.” Harry mumbles into the cream tablecloth he has his face mushed into. 

“Okay then, whatever it is I’ll just tell Greg we’ve already discussed it.” 

“Perfect.” Harry says on a sigh. Then he’s gone, soft breathes puffing his hair off his forehead as his eyes close completely. Louis laughs quietly, wondering if he should bother waking Harry when Greg finally shows up. Harry’s cute when he sleeps.

Greg wakes up Harry for him, pulling on his curls with a laugh like they’re old friends. He shakes their hands warmly, the large smile on his face calming Louis down slightly. He’s entirely too happy for this to be bad news.

“I’d get it over with quick.” Josh says as he pulls out Greg’s chair. “They’re nervous.” 

“Nothing to be nervous about, boys!” Greg laughs. “A water, Josh. And whatever these two want, on me.” 

“You don’t have to do that.” Louis insists. 

“Yeah, we already get a pretty nice discount.” Harry adds.

“Nonsense, you’re my heroes! Without the excellent work of my favorite managers, this place would be a wreck. Really, I could never thank either of you enough.” Greg places his hand over his heart as he speaks, his eyes shining as he fawns over Harry and Louis. 

“Well, thanks for the job in the first place.” Louis says. “I love working here. Couldn’t ask for anything better.” 

“That sweet, Louis, but I am here to prove you wrong on that last one.” Greg’s smile grows as he looks between them. 

“What do you mean?” Harry asks. His voice is still heavy with lack of sleep but he’s trying to sound awake, and Louis finds that cuter than a sleeping Harry.

“Before I tell you, I want you both to understand that this is not a punishment and has nothing to do with the quality of the work you do here.” Greg starts, his tone suddenly very serious. “The inn has been doing very well recently and I have been considering hiring some new managers. Just two for now, one for the day and one for the night. Only so you boys could take a break every now and then. You work too hard, it’s wonderful, but I still feel terrible about it.”

“I wouldn’t mind if you hired another manager.” Harry says, smiling at the prospect of possibly sleeping at night. 

“Yeah, it doesn’t sound too bad.” Louis agrees. 

“Great!” Greg shouts, his voice taking on its bubbly quality again. “Oh, this will be wonderful, boys! A new chapter in The Cheshire Cat Inn’s riveting book! I’m looking forward to it.” 

“Us too, Greg.” Louis says, noticing out of the corner of his eye as Harry yawns.

“Oh, my daughter!” Greg cries, grabbing his phone and furiously typing out a message. “Sorry, boys, I really have to go! But, we’ll talk soon?” 

Then he’s standing and ruffling of their hair before breezing out of the room. 

“He’s seems a lot more scattered than the last time I talked to him.” Harry says absentmindedly, staring at the place where Greg used to be sitting. 

“Listen, lunch is still on Greg. I mean, I know you’re tired. But if you wanted to stay a little longer?” Louis asks, Harry’s heavy green eyes swinging to him as he speaks.

“Josh!” Harry calls to the boy. “Could we have some menus, please?”

-

“This used to be a different inn, like a bed and breakfast or something. And when it closed down they just left everything exactly the way it was. I used to come here all the time to take pictures. I loved it here. It was beautiful. And then Greg started showing up to look at the property while I was taking pictures and he figured out I loved this place. Offered me a job when the inn opened.” Harry says. Louis likes that Harry doesn’t take bites of his food in between sentences. He’s poking at this pasta with his fork but he’s not taking a bite. It’s dumb and little but Louis feels like every word Harry says is important. They’re not, most of Harry’s words are slow and unnecessary to what he’s saying, but they all have weight, like his sentences are a song that wouldn’t be complete without each individual note being perfect. 

“So you’ve been here since the place opened?” Louis asks.

“Yeah.” Harry answers. “Kind of watched this place happen. I love it here. What about you?” 

“There was a job fair at my school. I met Greg there and I told him that I was majoring in business and we got to talk a bit and he offered me the job. I had a job by the time I graduated. It was nice.” Louis smiles as he talks, watching Harry’s eyes lighten. He looks more awake than earlier. 

“I was so scared of this point in my life.” Louis admits with a soft smile. “I thought that I would get a degree in something I hated because I knew I could and get a job that never made me happy and my life would just be boring and unhappy.” 

“But?” Harry pushes his food away, leaning on the table so he’s on the edge of Louis’ space. 

“But I love it here, too. It’s not what I thought I wanted. Working here has been pleasantly surprising.” Louis finishes with a happy sigh. “I’m not sure why I’m telling you this.”

“The inn likes you too, you know.” Harry giggles to himself and leans back in his chair. His eyes sweep over Louis, stopping at where his fingers are gently resting on the inn’s soft tablecloth. Josh walks over and takes their half empty plates, hip checking them as he passes. 

“What do you mean?” Louis asks. The lunch rush is over, the room empty except for the staff setting the tables and the two of them, watching each other intently. 

“You started working here, and everyone is happier. The guests, the employees, even the horses. Everyone’s so tired when I’m working, they just want sleep. But you, they can’t stop talking about you. They revolve around you.” Harry says easily. His whole posture is relaxed, slouched in his chair with his eyes slowly rolling over Louis’ features. 

“That’s very nice of you.” Louis answers. He chugs some of his water, wincing at the cold.

“You know what’s crazy?” Harry finally says. “We’ve been sitting here, having lunch, for a while now and no one’s needed us and the inn hasn’t fallen apart.”

“Yes, that _is_ crazy.” Louis replies with a laugh. He looks around at the wait staff working. None of them spare Louis a glance. “It is crazy.” He repeats, softer. “Like I could only work my shifts or take a day off and the world wouldn’t stop.” 

“I think Greg hiring some new managers will be good for us.” Harry says. 

“I think we should test that theory.” Louis says, lowering his voice so the servers around him won’t hear. “I think we should take the rest of the day off.”

“I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.” Harry smiles, his dimples like craters, as he stands, leading the way out of the room. They walk like they’re trying to act casual, like Harry’s on his way home and Louis’ going back to work. They take off running when they hit the front door, laughing as they sprint to Louis’ car, jumping in and driving away before anyone can stop them.

-

They both call in sick one day the next week. Louis gets Liam to cover for him and Harry asks Ed, who apparently works with the horses. 

“Ed’s really, like, calming.” Harry says. “That’s why he’s so good with the horses. I think he’ll be good at handling the guests.” 

“What do guests even want late at night?” Louis asks. He’s sitting in Harry’s flat, sinking into Harry’s worn couch while Harry runs around, looking for his other shoe. 

“Mostly it’s just a lot of people thinking the inn is haunted. I spend a lot of time convincing guests that I haven’t had a single paranormal experience in my three years of working there.” Harry smiles, finally retrieving his boot out from under a pile of scarves. He pulls it on and flops down next to Louis on the couch. 

“I think you might have the harder shift.” Louis confesses. “I really only have to deal with Liam and Zayn freaking out.” 

“There’s a great team at the inn. They make it easy.” Harry smiles, slipping down so his cheek is resting against Louis’ shoulder. His curls tickle Louis’ jaw line and he smells like cinnamon and spice oatmeal.

“Yeah, they’re great.” They’re quiet for a minute, Louis fingers dragging through the ends of Harry’s hair, gently brushing the back of his neck, as Harry tries to shield his eyes from the rising sun pouring in the window by hiding behind Louis. “So what are we doing today?”

“I don’t know. This is the first time in a long time that I’ve been awake with the sun.” Harry smiles, finding a spot where the sun can’t hit him.

“So, we should start with coffee?” Louis offers. 

“Yeah! I know a great place.” Harry jumps up, pulling Louis behind him. 

“Do you think this is end game for you?” Louis asks once they have cups of coffee warming their hands. “Managing an inn in Cheshire?” 

“Honestly, I’ve never had any idea what was end game for me. I used to think it was photography, but taking pictures was always more about seeing things than documenting. So I don’t think that would work out for me.” Harry leads them down the street to the farmers market in town. He stops just on the outskirts, sitting on a bench and just watching the crowd. “I like my job though. I feel like I’m helping people enjoy their holidays.” 

“Is that important to you? Helping the people around you be happy?” Louis sits facing Harry. His curls are poking out from under his beanie and his skin is pale from the cold. He looks like the male lead from a Christmas movie and Louis wonders if this conversation is something from a Christmas movie too.

“Yeah. Like if I can do something to make the people around me happy, I think I should. I don’t know.” Harry blushes, a light pink to match his plump lips. “So what about you? What’s important to you?” 

“Oh, wow, there’s got to be something.” Louis laughs and turns to where Harry is watching him, waiting patiently for his answer. “I guess. Like my friends are important to me. Zayn and Liam and Niall and everyone else at the inn. It’s like I have this group of people I care about and I want to keep them around if I can.”

“They adore you.” Harry says earnestly. “It’s incredible to see. You make my job easy.”

“What do you mean?” 

“You make other people happy. And you make other people want to make you happy. I hardly get any complaints, from the guests or the other employees. So thanks for that.” Harry shrugs. His eyes are trained on where the farmers market is packing up but he’s watching Louis out of the corner of his eye. 

“You’re welcome.” Louis says softly. They watch the market together, sides pressed together for warmth. “This is my first day off in months. We should go catch up on the movies out.”

Harry stands, lacing their fingers. The walk to the movie theater, bumping shoulders and pointing out funny looking birds and guessing how long the people walking together have known each other. It’s easy, like a natural cycle, and Louis feels bright. 

-

It becomes a thing from there: scheduling off days so they can see each other. They explore the town or they sit in Louis’ apartment, watching movies and making up for all the times they simply passed each other. There’s a person underneath the dark eyes of the night manager and Louis is almost mad at himself for not even trying to know him sooner. 

Louis still stays late and gets to work early, but now it’s for a glimpse of Harry. They make time for each other, but it seems like it’s not enough. Louis wants to see Harry almost all the time. It’s a different routine but Louis loves it, loves how easily Harry seems to fit into Louis’ cycle.

Its like Louis is trying to soak in every little piece of Harry but it’s just never enough.

-

“Hey, Boss Man!” Niall shouts across the hallway. Its late, much too late for Louis to be working or Niall to be shouting. A few of the guests look up at him, but Niall throws them a bright smile, and they go back to whatever people do at eleven at night when they’re in hotel lobbies. 

“What do you want, Niall? I’m exhausted.” Louis lets out a heavy sigh, leaning on Niall’s desk. 

“I can tell.” Niall whispers. His voice is still high pitched and harsh, but he’s trying and Louis thinks he should at least try to appreciate it. “Why are you still here?”

“Harry hasn’t shown up yet.” Louis mumbles into his hands. He has to hide his eyes when he talks about Harry. Zayn and Liam have caught on to the way his eyes shine when Harry’s smooth name rolls off his tongue. 

“He’s late? Harry’s never late.” Niall’s eyebrows furrow as he looks down at Louis. “Maybe he’s just not coming in today.”

“He’d call. He always calls.” Louis pouts. He may not know everything about Harry, but he’s got the way Harry is down perfectly. He cares about this inn just as much as Louis does. He would call. “I’m really worried about him.”

“I’m sure he’s fine, Lou.” 

“Yeah.” Louis looks up as Niall logs out of the computer, waving as one of the others concierges walks over. They talk for a bit, comparing horror stories from the job, and Louis thinks about Harry. The have the same job, practically the same schedule, just at different points in time. Harry might have lived an entirely different life, but it still led to him being a manager at The Cheshire Cat Inn, same as Louis. Louis feels like they ought to stick together, look out for each other. “I’m going to go check on Harry.”

Niall’s quiet, looking at the other concierge, Ashton, Louis thinks, although he typically works at night and Louis never really talks to him. “Why would you do that?” 

“He would call if he was going to be sick or take tonight off! There’s something wrong with him, I’m sure!” Louis cries, growing more worried the more he thinks about it. 

“But you and Harry aren’t… friends?” Ashton says, cocking his head to the side as he looks at Louis. 

“Yes, we are! Harry and I are very good friends.” Louis argues. 

“How, though? You never see each other.” Ashton points out. 

“They take time off from the inn to see each other.” Niall says smugly, raising his eyebrows to emphasize all the words. 

“Oh that’s what this is.” Ashton giggles. 

“Yes, that is what this is!” Louis yells. Niall and Ashton look shocked and guest are starting to look over but Louis doesn’t care. “Harry is cute and he’s always sleepy and he’s incredibly nice and I like being around him. He’s incredible.” 

“And you’re going to go check on him?” Niall asks, a timid smile taking over his face.

“And I’m going to go check on him.” Louis agrees. He should stop, should ask Liam to watch the inn for a bit, but Louis hasn’t seen Liam in a few hours. The inn will be all right, Harry might not be. Louis ruffles Niall’s hair before taking off.

-

The door to Harry’s flat is locked and he doesn’t answer when Louis knocks, but Louis knows there’s a key under the mat and he waste no time letting himself in. The apartment is quiet and dark, and entirely too still for Harry to be home. 

“Hello?” Harry’s voice calls out softly from his bedroom. Louis pushes open the door, sighing with relief when he sees Harry’s dark green eyes poking out from under his heavy duvet. 

“You’re okay. I was so worried.” Louis sits on the edge of the bed, resting his body over the lump that is Harry. He smiles to himself when he feels the gently rise and fall of Harry’s chest, like the tide coming in with each breathe. 

“What are you doing here, Louis?” Harry mumbles, his voice raw and quiet and almost painful. 

“You didn’t show up for work. I thought something happened to you. Had to come make sure you’re okay.” Louis shifts so he’s lying next to Harry, his arms wrapping around Harry and holding him close.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I meant to call. Think I feel asleep.” Harry presses himself tightly to Louis side. He’s shaking, even though his skin is flushed, and Louis moves his hands up and down Harry’s arms to warm him up.

“It’s alright, you’re sick. The inn will be alright.” Louis says, already hearing Harry start to snore from where his head is tucked under Louis’ chin. 

-

Louis wakes up the next morning to the alarm on his phone going off. He would get up and make coffee to take to Harry. But Harry’s already with him, lying on his chest. Louis has to shift them to get to his phone, and Harry pouts up at him. 

“Sorry, H.” Louis whispers. It’s early, and Louis wants to give them the chance to fall back asleep. 

“Do you need to go to work?” Harry asks. 

“I think I should stay with you. You know, incase you need medicine or food or company?” Louis holds his breath as Harry snuggles back in, not wanting to disturb him. 

“I think that sounds nice.” Harry replies, his voice trailing off as he falls back to sleep. 

-

Louis’ ready the next time Harry wakes up. He finds medicine and starts making soup and has lots of drinks for Harry to choose from. He puts a damp rag over Harry’s forehead, pushing his curls out of the way, his fingers tangling in the strands. 

“You’re like a nurse.” Harry says when he wakes up. His voice is heavy with sleep, and his whole body is ruffled from being buried in blankets, but he still looks weak and pale. He’s brought his duvet with him, the heavy material wrapped around his body making him look even frailer.

“My mother was a nurse. I’m a prodigy.” Louis answers, gesturing to where he’s set up his station. The coffee table in Harry’s living room is covered in fruit, various juices, tissues and medicine. 

“Clearly you missed your calling.” Harry falls into the couch, pulling the blanket over himself and sighing.

“At least I’ve got you to take care of.” Louis sits under Harry’s feet, giggling as he tries to put a movie in without leaving the couch. 

“Yeah, it’s like I hardly ever get sick, but when I do it’s not pretty. And it doesn’t last long.” Harry conforms himself to Louis side, the duvet cocooned around them, as the start of The Brave Little Toaster plays. “I always watch this when I’m sick.”

“It’s a good one.” Louis admits. They watch the movie quietly, Harry sniffling as he tears up. “We don’t have to watch it if it makes you sad.”

“No, I love this movie. It may be sad but I like it.” Harry says quietly, sinking further into the couch. 

Halfway through the movie, Louis makes Harry take some medicine and eat some crackers, rubbing his back as he does. 

“You don’t have to stay.” Harry says. “I know this isn’t fun for you. You can enjoy your day off or check on the inn or something.” 

“I don’t mind.” Louis replies truthfully. “I want to be here.”

“But the inn.” Harry protests.

“The inn will survive. There’s a great group of people there. You need someone too.” Louis presses his thumb to Harry’s dimples, smiling as Harry blushes. He smiles a lot around Harry. 

“Thank you, Louis.” Harry sighs like it’s a song, and he wriggles in his blankets until his head is in Louis’ lap. Louis runs his fingers down the length of Harry’s neck, his eyes heavy as he blinks up at Louis. 

“You should get some sleep.” Louis mumbles, his finger moving to where Harry’s collarbones are poking out of his loose shirt. He’s got so much warm, pale skin for Louis to touch, and Louis is fascinated by the goose bumps that appear in the wake of his fingers. 

“Can’t sleep. The sun’s too bright.” Harry breathes out. 

“C’mon.” Louis grunts, forcing Harry up and pulling him back to the bedroom, where Harry has heavy curtains to block the sunlight. It’s dark in Harry’s room, even though it’s the middle of the day, and they settle back into bed together. Harry falls asleep almost instantly, his body curled towards Louis and fingers holding his wrist. Louis stays awake, dumbstruck by the curls of Harry’s body. He has no sharp lines, all of his features transitioning seamlessly into the next. Harry sleeps peacefully and Louis thinks of all the ways Harry is like a wave.

-

Harry wakes up saying he feels much better, even if Louis thinks his skin is sill too thin and too warm. 

“We could go to the inn. You could see what it’s like at night.” Harry murmurs. His voice sounds right again, strong and deep and like falling asleep. 

“Always wanted to know what the inn was like at night.” Louis admits. 

“It’s very, _very_ , different. And we both know you want to check on it just as much as I do.” Harry smiles as he speaks, his words lazy and easy, like he knows he doesn’t have to work hard to get what he wants from Louis.

“And I should go with you, in case you start to feel bad again.” Louis adds. 

“So it’s decided. I’ll go shower, and then we can go.” Harry hops up, detangling himself from the bed and bouncing away. 

“And take some more medicine!” Louis calls after him.

Niall and Zayn are clocking out when Harry and Louis get to the inn. They’re in the break room, Niall begging Zayn to cook him something for dinner and Zayn refusing to make someone else another meal today, and they both look up and stare when Harry walks in, Louis close behind, skipping over to the coffee pot.

“Night shift tip number one: always have coffee close by, just in case.” Harry says, pouring a cup for both of them. 

“Louis doesn’t work night shifts.” Niall protest immediately, taking one of the mugs from Harry and chugging the whole cup, wincing as he burns his tongue. “You’re going to mess up his sleep schedule, and then he’ll be really grumpy and annoying tomorrow. You can’t do that to me!” 

“Aren’t you sick, Harry?” Zayn asks. “You really should get some rest.”

“I’ve been resting all day!” Harry argues. He bounces on his toes like he has too much pent up energy and coffee splashes onto his fingers. Louis’ slightly worried when he doesn’t react. 

“I’ll keep him from working too hard, lads.” Louis says, throwing an arm around Harry’s shoulders to still him. “You two should head home though. You look exhausted.” 

Niall agrees instantly, pulling Zayn with him as he leaves, babbling about how Zayn should at least heat up some leftovers for him, since he can never figure out how long to microwave anything.

“Night shift tip number two!” Harry calls loudly, striding into the quiet lobby of the hotel. “The guests are usually really tired and more easily aggravated. You want to resolve things really fast.” Harry circles the lobby, greeting the other workers with a deep, loud voice. Louis almost doesn’t connect the words Harry’s saying with the movement of his mouth, he’s talking faster and louder than Louis ever seen before. His body’s behaving the same way, all his gesture big and strides long and fast. Louis not sure if he’s trying to fill the empty quiet lobby or if it’s from staying in and sleeping for so long but Harry has too much energy. 

“Are you okay?” Louis blurts out, interrupting Harry’s rant about guests trying to order room service even though the kitchen is closed. 

“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Harry replies. His smile loosens into something natural and his hands stilling as he catches Louis’ eyes. 

“Well, you were sick all day.” Louis answers. He steps closer to Harry, their chests so close to touching, as if decreasing the distance between them will bring Harry back to a smaller orbit. Louis would love seeing Harry this excited and bubbly, but the stark contrast to Harry’s mood a little over an hour ago is scaring him a bit. 

Harry makes the first point of contact, enclosing Louis wrist with his fingers. “You’ve just been cooped up with me in my flat for a while now.” 

“You don’t have to worry about me. I actually enjoy sitting in your flat.” Louis responds, feeling Harry’s fingers glide over his warm skin to the palm of his hand. He wants to look down, watch Harry map him out, but Harry’s eyes are too wide to ignore. 

“Really?”

“You have a nice couch.” Louis touches Harry’s forehead, his cheeks, and the back of his neck. “You still feel clammy. We should have stayed at you’re place.”

“But the inn.” Harry says softly. He leans into Louis space and Louis can even see the inn around the body in front of him. 

“Inn looks fine. Let’s get you home.” Louis takes Harry’s coffee from him, dumping it when they get to the break room. They pass one of the assistant managers, Cal, on the way out, and Louis tells him that they’re going to take a few days off. For both of their health.

-

Harry finally feels better after two days of rest and movies on his nice couch and Louis goes back to work. He’s expecting for the inn to be different, for the whole place to be unrecognizable after taking some time off, but everything is exactly where he left it. He spends the day looking for a minuscule change. 

Harry strolls in earlier than usual. He looks healthy and stable and Louis breathes a sigh of relief when he sees him. 

“How are you feeling?” Louis asks once Harry’s standing behind the front desk with him, Harry huddling close to him. He feels better, pressed completely to Louis side, leaning against Louis like he doesn’t feel like supporting his own weight right now. 

“Yeah, feel like myself again. I actually just wanted to thank you again. You were lovely while I was sick.” Harry bashfully shrugs. 

“It was my pleasure. I told you, my soul wants to be a nurse.” Louis smiles as Harry giggles next to him. 

“Nurse or not,” Harry says once he’s regained himself, “you were an absolute saint to take care of poor ole pitiful me. You should let me make it up to you.” 

“Zayn says you make good fudge. I’d accept fudge.” Louis replies. 

“I was actually thinking a date. Although, I could make you dinner if you wanted and we could have fudge for dessert.” Harry blurts out quickly. 

“That sounds nice, H. Like really nice, actually.” Louis answers. He blushes from all the places his mind is going, everything from kissing on Harry’s nice couch while a movie plays in the background, to giving Harry a blowjob in one of the unoccupied rooms, to moving in together. Louis wants a lot from Harry, he realizes. He wonders if this happened gradually or all at once, the moment Louis looked up to see him, with his long limbs and wide eyes, and thought, _Harry, this is Harry_. 

“Really?” Harry’s smile widens like he’s relived Louis said yes. 

“You know,” Louis starts, “if we both start and end our shifts at the same time there’s a good four hours in between.” 

“So tomorrow night? I’ll pick you up when you get off work?” Harry asks, his large eyes hopeful again. 

Louis clocks out and squeezes Harry’s fingers between his before walking away without a word. He can hear a laugh behind him and Louis turns around in time to see Harry looking at him with fond eyes. 

-

It’s a hard day. Niall accidently offends one of the guests and Louis has to calm both of them down, cleaning equipment breaks, a few too many members of the wait staff called in sick, and Zayn and the horses are in a mood. By the end of the day, Louis is irritated and tired and has a headache. His limbs feel heavy to the point that every move takes too much energy. 

But then Harry walks in, dressed like they’re going to an award show instead of just dinner back at his flat, and Louis breathes. He lets out all of the negative thoughts that weigh down his hands and clouds his eyes until he can smile. He waits for Harry to come to where he’s standing behind the front desk, watching him stroll across the lobby, looking bashful and unsure.

“Don’t you look nice.” Louis says, eyeing Harry’s long legs and broad shoulders. Harry grins and turns on his toes while Louis admires the way Harry’s jeans hug his lean legs. “How did I go so long without noticing you?” Louis mumbles, soft and gentle.

“You notice me now, don’t you?” Harry replies. He’s blushing, but he finally meets Louis’ eyes. Louis taken aback to see that they actually sparkle. 

“It still took me a while. I’m sorry.” Louis has to look away, fiddling with the computer and his jacket under the desk. 

“It’s okay. I didn’t really make an effort to talk to you either.” Harry shrugs. “Are you ready to go?” 

Louis clocks out, grabbing Harry’s hand as they walk through the inn. The employees in the lobby freeze when they see them, unused to seeing Louis leaving on time and with Harry. Ashton shoots them a big thumbs up as they pass, smiling obnoxiously, and Louis glares at him while Harry just waves. 

The drive to Harry’s seems too long. They have four hours until Harry has to be at the inn and Louis knows that’s not enough time for him. Louis never has enough time with Harry. He always wants to stay a little longer, talk a little more, be in his presence for as long as possible. They never have enough time. And now that they’re on a date, an actual real life _date_ , Louis knows they don’t have the time to waste.

“It smells great, H.” Louis praises once they’re in Harry’s flat. Harry’s cleaned up the place and set the table. “You’ve pulled out all the stops.”

“Only the best for you.” Harry calls over his shoulder while he putters around in the kitchen. “Sit down, it should be ready.” 

They eat quietly at first, alternating between watching each other and pretending they weren’t. Then Harry misses his mouth with his fork and drops meatloaf into his lap and Louis snorts and they’re back to normal. 

-

“You know what I haven’t done in a while?” Harry asks. They’re eating ice cream on Harry’s couch, legs tangled together, and Harry’s is half melted. “Gone on an actual holiday. Like properly traveled.”

“Really? Not even to see you’re family?” Louis says, grinning as Harry licks ice cream off his spoon.

“All my family lives around here. I don’t think I’ve been on holiday since I started working at the inn.” Harry answers, winking as he notices Louis staring. 

“I go home to Doncaster at Christmas but I’d like to go somewhere new.” Louis waves his hands around while he talks, looking up just in time to see Harry watching him intently. 

“Like where?” He asks, leaning in closer to Louis. 

“Um, maybe Spain. Or you know, I went to France on a school trip once and I’d love to go back. What about you? All expenses paid holiday, where do you go?” Louis puts their bowls on the coffee table and leans completely on Harry. He tucks himself against Harry, resting on Harry’s solid chest so he can feel every breath Harry takes. Harry wraps an arm around Louis, resting his hand on Louis’ thigh. 

“Maybe I’d stay at the inn.” Harry mumbles softly. 

“The inn? Really?” Louis groans and shakes his head. “You can go anywhere and you’d pick the inn?” 

“Oh come on, don’t you wonder what it’s like for the guests?” Harry tries to protest but he’s laughing to himself like it’s ridiculous Louis doesn’t like his answer. 

“Yeah, but the point is to go somewhere you’ve never been before. You see the inn everyday so that won’t work, see?” Louis leans his head back to see Harry shrug and nod. “So try again. Anywhere in the world, where do you go?” 

“I think maybe Disney World.” Harry says and Louis can feel them sinking into the couch. 

“In America?” Louis questions. 

“Yeah. I’ve never been and it looks like fun.” 

“It does look like fun. And you’d get to meet Mickey Mouse.” Louis smiles as he speaks, thinking of Harry with a mouse ears hat sitting on his curls. 

“So you’d want to go too?” Harry asks and Louis nods immediately. “We should. Save up some money and go to Disney World.” 

“Okay, H.” Louis replies, already day dreaming of days spent with just each other, not having to worry about when one of them will have to say good-bye.

-

It isn’t until Harry is washing the dishes that Louis notices the time. He’s sitting on the counter next to the sink and he looks at the stove to see the numbers on the clock change. Harry’s shift starts in two hours. 

Then he looks at Harry and it doesn’t matter that they have two hours. He’s with Harry now, that’s enough. It’s natural and easy to lean over, a hand gently touching Harry’s chin, and connect their lips. 

Harry startles at the touch but relaxes when he hears Louis sigh. Louis pulls him closer with an arm around his waist until Harry is standing between Louis legs, his wet fingers tangling in Louis hair. Harry’s lips are as soft as Louis thought they would be and Louis runs his hand over the smooth curves of Harry’s body. He traces Harry with his fingertips, up Harry’s spine and over his shoulders, to the line of his neck and jaw line and back down his chest, while Harry pulls at Louis hair and makes sweet, content noises. 

They break apart and Harry turns off the water. “I can wash the dishes later.” He says, and Louis thumbs at Harry’s swollen lips. Louis hops off the counter, pressing their bodies together. “Would it be wrong of me to ask you if you wanted to see the bedroom?”

“I’ve seen you’re bedroom before.” Louis answers. His eyes drops down to Harry’s exposed collarbones and he can’t reset mouthing hotly at them. Harry places his hands on the counter on either side of Louis’ hips, closing him in. 

“Louis.” Harry sighs. 

Louis pulls back and looks at Harry’s wide eyes. “It wouldn’t be wrong of you.”

“Do you want to see my bedroom, Louis?” Harry says and Louis likes that he’s never seen Harry look like this before. His cheeks are flushed and his red lips are parted slightly. His dark green eyes are roaming over all of Louis features and he smiles when he reaches Louis’ eyes, both dimples making an appearance. 

Louis grabs Harry’s hands and leads them to Harry’s familiar bedroom. The lights are off but Louis leaves them, liking the way the streetlight outside Harry’s window bleeds into the room and cast shadows on Harry’s exposed skin. Louis settles in the middle of the bed and pulls on Harry’s wrist until he lies down next to him. 

“Is this what you wanted me to see?” Louis asks. They’re lying so close that all Louis can see is Harry’s face and Harry smiles and wraps himself around Louis. 

“Yeah, this is it. What do you think?” Harry quirks an eyebrow like he’s proud of himself and Louis scoffs. 

“This is ridiculous.” Louis replies. He pulls himself up using Harry’s shoulders to kiss him. Harry’s hands goes back to Louis hair and Louis works on unbuttoning Harry’s shirt. He finally gets his hands on Harry’s warm, bare skin and he touches everywhere he can. 

Harry finally remembers that he’s bigger than Louis and manhandles him on top of him, where Louis fits perfectly. Harry grips Louis thighs while Louis moves his fingers down to Harry’s belt, pulling away when he gets Harry’s jeans completely undone. 

“We’re not moving too fast, are we?” Louis asks. “It’s only our first date.”

“We should have done this as soon as we started working together.” Harry breathes out. He pulls Louis’ shirt over his head and presses his plump lips to Louis neck, hands rubbing up and down Louis’ ribs. “Want you to fuck me.” Harry murmurs, his lips brushing against the bottom of Louis’ ear as he speaks. 

Louis moans softly, feeling his cock take interest at Harry’s words. “Where do you keep the lube and condoms?” 

“Oh, I’ll grab them.” Harry says, letting Louis crawl off of him before walking to the bathroom, shimmying his jeans off as he goes. Louis pulls his own pants off and touches his cock through his underwear as he watches Harry. He throws the lube and a condom on the bed and looks down at Louis. “I haven’t really done this in a while.” He confesses. 

“Me either. We work too much.” Louis whispers, looking up at Harry with heavy eyes. Harry lies down on the bed next to Louis and Louis kisses the middle of Harry’s chest and gets settled resting on him. 

“I want to though.” Harry finally says, his voice so low it blends into the dark room. It’s so quiet Louis can hear his fingertips grazing Harry’s skin and cars driving around outside the window. “Do you?” 

“Yeah, of course I do. Slow though, okay?” Louis taps at Harry’s chest, pulls both of their underwear off, and sets himself between Harry’s legs. He wraps a hand around the base of Harry’s cock and closes his lips around the head, listening to Harry gasp above him. Louis fights a pleased smile as he slides his mouth farther down, his tongue running up and down what he can reach. He’s got one hand resting on Harry’s hipbone, pressing lightly to keep him still and using the hand around Harry’s cock to pump what he doesn’t have in his mouth. 

“Louis.” Harry whines. “Stop teasing.” 

Louis pulls off completely, his sparkling eyes meeting Harry’s. “It’s been a long time since I’ve given someone a blowjob. Not sure if I still know how.”

“I think you still know how.” Harry grumbles. Louis laughs and slides his mouth back onto Harry’s cock. Harry moans and Louis slowly swirls his tongue around the head. He holds Harry’s hips with both hands, slowly kneading his hot skin, and Harry squirms under Louis. Harry grips the sheets with hand and Louis’ soft hair with the other. “Thought you were going to fuck me.” He says softly.

“Alright, alright.” Louis whispers. He sits up and kisses Harry deeply while searching blindly for where Harry put the lube. Louis slicks up his fingers and tosses the lube to the side before trailing his hand down Harry’s chest, past his erect cock, and to his hole. 

“Please, Lou.” Harry says against Louis lips. Harry wraps a large hand around both of their cocks just as Louis presses one finger in and they gasp together. They’re slow, building each other up and trying to get used to how this feels again. Finally, Louis’ pulling three fingers out and Harry’s sliding the condom and more lube over Louis. “I’m ready.”

Louis kisses Harry chastely and lines his cock up with Harry’s hole. He rest his forehead on Harry’s and watches his face as he slowly pushes in. Louis runs his hands over Harry’s skin, trying to relax Harry’s muscles until they’re flush against each other. 

“Still alright?” Louis breathes into Harry’s jawline, pressing open mouth kisses wherever he can reach. Harry finds Louis mouth and kisses him through his smile. 

“Yeah, I’m good. You can move.” Harry says, his voice slow. Louis pulls out and thrusts back in and Harry moans into Louis’ ear. They move together, Harry meeting Louis thrust as they build up a rhythm. Louis knows he’s found Harry’s prostate when Harry gasps and arches his back and Louis shifts to aim for that spot again. Harry snakes his hand between their bodies and wraps it around his own cock, using his precome to pump himself up and down, trying to match Louis rhythm. He grasps at Louis’ back as his breath gets heavy and his heart starts to hammer loudly, and his eyes slip closed. 

“It’s been too long, Lou, I’m going to come.” Harry whispers heavily, his body wrapped completely around Louis. 

“That’s alright, H. Come for me, yeah, love?” Louis gets out between exhales. It takes a few strong thrusts before Harry’s coming, spilling over his own hand and both of their stomachs. Louis fucks him through it until he’s coming himself, slumping heavily onto Harry. 

Louis moves when he can, pulling out of Harry and taking the condom off. He grabs a washcloth from the bathroom and cleans them up before settling into Harry’s side, pulling a blanket over both of them. Harry kisses Louis’ cheekbone and wraps his arms around him. 

-

They can’t be asleep for more than ten minutes when Harry’s alarm goes off. Harry groans loudly and Louis follows suit.

“Turn it off.” Louis whines, burying his head in the crook of Harry’s neck to hide from the noise. 

“Sorry, Lou.” Harry says, working to slowly detach himself from Louis. “I’ve got to get ready for work.” 

Louis sits up when Harry pulls himself out of bed. “Alright, fine.” He rubs at his eyes and pouts as Harry turns the shower on. “You’ll have to drive me back to the inn, my car’s still there.”

“Yeah, sure.” Harry says, looking away from Louis. “Or, you know, you could stay. Get some sleep. I’ll make you breakfast before your shift in the morning.”

“You won’t mind?” Louis asks, already lying back down in Harry’s warm bed and closing his eyes.

“Go back to sleep.” Harry whispers, kissing Louis gently. “I’ll see you in the morning.” 

Louis falls asleep breathing in Harry’s scent on the pillows and pretending Harry will be right back.

-

Louis wakes up to the smell of coffee. The heavy curtains Harry must have closed block the sun but Louis knows it’s time to get up. He checks the clock and he’s got work in two hours. 

Harry’s in the kitchen, singing to himself and frying eggs. “Hey!” He calls when he sees Louis leaning against the doorway to the bedroom. “Sleep well?” 

“Yeah, thanks. This for me?” Louis asks, molding himself to Harry’s back.

“I told you I’d make you breakfast.” Harry smiles as he hands Louis a plate. They sit at the table, Louis shoveling eggs into his mouth and Harry sipping his black coffee.

“How was work?”

“Not too bad. Liam managed to calm Zayn down so the breakfast prep went pretty easy.” Harry says, his voice like syrup and his long fingers wrapped around his mug. 

“I have to go home and shower and change before I go in.” Louis says around a mouthful of eggs. He doesn’t have enough time.

“I can drive you to the inn to get your car. Or to your flat and then to the inn. Whatever you need.” Harry offers, the same pretty smile on his face. Louis wonders if he can feel it the way Louis can. He feels the way their cycles and schedules just won’t match up and the way the seconds until they have to part tick by. 

“Harry?” Louis starts, shying away from Harry’s wide eyes. “Do you think we’d work?” 

Harry quiet, his eyes seeming to darken as he watches Louis. “I think so. I mean I really like you, Lou. Do you not think we’d work?” 

“I think we could, maybe, if things we’re different. It’s just you’re the night manager and I’m the day manager. We’re always just missing each other; at best we get to see each other for only a couple hours a day. I like you a lot, too, but would you really be satisfied being with someone you hardly ever see?” Louis says, but he wants to get out the ice cream and sit on the couch with Harry for hours. But instead the sun is streaming in through the living room window and Louis is thinking in the back of his mind that he really should be getting ready for work.

“Louis, I could see you a minute a day and be satisfied. It doesn’t matter how often I see you, I just want to see you. I look forward to the moments where we see each other between shifts all day.” Harry’s voice shakes slightly as he speaks but he doesn’t look away from Louis once.

“Are you saying you want to try?” Louis asks, sliding his hand across the table and under Harry’s. 

Harry nods and smiles slightly. “I want to try.”

“Drive me to work?” Louis asks. 

Harry waits on Louis’ couch while Louis gets ready for work. Harry kisses Louis in the middle of the lobby when he drops him off, ignoring Niall’s laugh and Liam’s cheering. 

“Can I come over when I get off?” 

“Of course. I’ll see you tonight.” Harry kisses the corner of Louis mouth and Louis watches him walk away. The sun bathes the lobby in bright light as Louis clocks in, counting down until the night comes and he can see Harry again.


End file.
